Aleisha Riboldi

Aleisha can't seem to escape Japan. Having lived in various parts of Japan from the inaka to the nation's capital, she has spent 10 years eating her way through Japan. A self-confessed gastronomad (foodie, traveler and photographer), she is on a mission to visit all 47 prefectures (with only about 7 left to do). Aleisha is a lover of puns, a chain tea drinker, and prefers being in the water than on land. She is an avid open water swimmer hailing from Down Under who likes to spend her holidays lazing by the beach, snorkeling, swimming and watching reality TV (but only the good stuff not the trashy ones). You can stalk her online by checking our her blog Memoirs of Aleisha.

Posted by Aleisha Riboldi (Page 2)

Ridiculously talented musician reproduces Super Mario Bros. 3 music & sound effects 【Video】

I’m always in awe of people gifted with musical talents. But nothing prepared me to be blown away by the Canadian musical genius who single-handedly reproduced the music and sound effects from NES classic Super Mario Bros. 3 using nothing but old-school instruments.

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Tasty and cheap: 30 minutes of all-you-can-eat yakiniku for only 780 yen

We used to think that the 45-minute all-you-can-eat lunch of cook-your-own grilled meat lunch for 950 yen (US$7.60), offered by the Jimbocho Shokuniku Centre restaurant, was pretty hard to beat in terms of value for your money. However, we’ve recently learned that there’s another yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo that offers an even better value!

If you love meat and are looking for a bargain, read on to learn about our meal at Asakusa Buta Yashiki Horumon Sakaba.

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Survey reveals Shiba Inu named Maru to be Japan’s second most popular Instagram account【Pics】

Just about everybody has an Instagram account these days. It’s not just for hipsters, foodies and wannabe photographers anymore – everyone from school kids to famous models and actors has their own account.

But whose account is the most popular? A recent survey revealed Kiko Mizuhara, star of the newly released, but so far not especially well-received, Attack on Titan movie, to be the Instagram user with the most followers in all of Japan. As for person – or perhaps ‘star’ – who came in second place…

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Holy smokes! Super-pricey ice cream cigars are this summer’s hottest cool treat

A photo posted by まゆこ (@mayu__81__) on Jul 4, 2015 at 2:06am PDT

You may already be familiar with YOKU MOKU – the Japanese sweets company famous for its sugar cigar cookies. Well it turns out that the company has outdone itself this summer, as it has just brought out a new product called Cigare ice cream – luxurious cigar-shaped cookies filled with, yup, ice cream. And, as you might imagine, Japanese sweet-lovers are already raving about them online…

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Facial recognition website decides how masculine or feminine you are, suggests famous look-alikes

Ever wanted to know who your celebrity look-alike would be? Wonder no more – there’s a website that will tell you! By uploading a selfie, facial recognition technology will guess your age, gender, and celebrity doppelganger.

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All our culinary dreams come true with gyoza-flavoured cup ramen

When it comes to ramen, nothing goes better than a side serving of gyoza (dumplings) washed down with a beer. Now our culinary dreams are about to come true with the release of gyoza-flavoured cup noodle ramen.

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Cans of Coca Cola wrapped and sealed in plastic containers leave us wondering “WHY?!”

The eyes can’t unsee this. Spotted in a Hong Kong supermarket were cans of Coke, individually wrapped and sealed in plastic containers. Despite consulting all the scientists we know, we can’t find a single explanation to warrant such an excessive use of unnecessary plastic packaging.

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The traditional dress worn by a former Miss Vietnam deemed not Vietnamese enough

This is the dress that has got tongues wagging in Vietnam for being not Vietnamese enough. Thuy Dung, former Miss Vietnam 2008, and fashion model, recently wore this dress down the runway at a Spring-Summer fashion show in Rome. She has since come under attack for wearing a dress that is “too Chinese” in style.

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Awesome father creates Mario Kart 8-themed nursery for newborn son【Video】

In what may be one of the most impressive Nintendo homages – not to mention a timely tribute to the late Satoru Iwata who passed away earlier this month – we’ve ever seen, a talented and Nintendo-obsessed father recently built a completely Mario Kart 8-themed nursery for his newborn son.

The final product is truly impressive; covering all four walls and even the ceiling (this is Mario Kart 8 after all!) with a giant mural models and props, he transports his little boy to the magical world of Nintendo.

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The surprising name for Universal Studios Japan theme park in Okinawa leaves netizens confused

We reported earlier this year that Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is floating the idea of opening a new theme park in Okinawa. We now know the proposed name for the new amusement park, and it has left many Japanese surprised and confused.

You see, the company plans to drop the “Universal” brand from its name, and instead the new theme park will, apparently, be called Nangoku Resort.

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Charcoal, a 45-pound cat, loves playing with boxes — and gnawing on them too!【Video】

We love cats. And cats loves boxes. But where most cats like to play with cardboard boxes, hide in them and sleep in them, Charcol finds far more satisfaction in chewing them up instead!

Check out a video of the giant feline demolishing a box below!

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McDonald’s France serving up a McFlurry mess, Japanese customer not impressed

McDonald’s Japan has seen its profits tumble over the last year especially, mostly due to safety concerns after tainted meat was found to be have been used in some of its products. The situation is not nearly as dire over in Europe, but if the following tweet is to believed, it seems McDonald’s staff in France could work on their food presentation skills.

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Hello Kitty dim sum restaurant serving up dishes of cuteness in Hong Kong

For diehard Hello Kitty fans, no trip to Hong Kong is complete without a visit to the Hello Kitty dim sum restaurant. On a recent trip there, I had to go and check it out for myself. So it was that on a Saturday night I dined alone on some ridiculously cute Hello Kitty Chinese cuisine.

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Giant Gundam headed for Hong Kong

Citizens of Hong Kong, brace yourself. An exciting Gundam exhibition is headed your way. This summer, as part of a month-long exhibition in Hong Kong, a giant Gundam statue – something not usually seen outside of Japan’s Odaiba Bay in Tokyo – will be on display.

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Pokémon characters come to life in live-action Nintendo ad

We recently revealed news of a Hello Kitty movie in the pipeline, which in turn made us wonder if there would ever be a Pokémon live-action movie. There’s already a series of Pokémon animated movies, and with such a huge following, it would make sense to release a live-action version bringing all of the franchise’s beloved characters to life.

It would make for impressive entertainment for children and adults alike, and a live-action movie with real actors and suited characters would like something like this.

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Book by Tokyo patissier uses Japanese sweets to represent all of the country’s 72 seasons

One of the many delights about living in Japan is, as many Japanese people will be willing to tell you, the country’s four distinct seasons. Imagine our surprise then when we learnt that there are actually 72 seasons in Japan! An ambitious new project by a Japanese patissier aims to showcase all 72 seasons with traditional Japanese sweets, one sweet per season. The results are stunning and will be sure to please anyone with a sweet tooth or an eye for the visually aesthetic.

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A.I. say I do: Japan’s first ever robot wedding?!

Last week, America celebrated the legalisation of gay marriage following the Supreme Court ruling recognising same-sex unions. Meanwhile in Japan, other celebrations of a very different kind were going on– Japan’s first ever robot wedding! Yes, that’s right, two Japanese robots said I do and tied the knot.

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Impressive replicas of iconic Japanese tourist spots made from curry

As kids we were always told not to play with our food but someone didn’t get that memo at a recent curry exhibition. Online marketplace Rakuten recently hosted a one-day event showcasing regional curry dishes from all over Japan, and the curry creations were very playful, and some were downright awesome. As if the spict foodstuff wasn’t already delicious enough, it got even better with iconic Japanese tourists spots replicated from curry!

Check out some of the dishes after the jump. It’s tourism for your taste buds!

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Teacher rejects student’s declarations of love through comments on class worksheets

I’m sure we all harboured a secret crush on a school teacher at least once during our formative years. The operative word here being ‘secret’, mind you.

Spare a thought for this poor Japanese teacher who was faced with open declarations of love, and even a marriage proposal, from one of her students, but who responded to them all with real aplomb.

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Mystery spot in Japan with strange noises and flying object has us baffled 【Video】

In a scene reminiscent of  something out of the X-Files, there was a report earlier this year of an undisclosed place in Japan where strange loud noises were heard from the sky. Video footage was captured of what appears to be a rainy night where mysterious noises are audible there’s even an unidentified object in the sky.

Personally, I’m not a believer of UFOs, but this video footage certainly has my skin crawling and my mind wondering. We can’t quite figure out whether it’s a sound of nature (some kind of natural phenomenon or a beast in hiding) or a man-made noise.

You be the judge after the jump.

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